Last year's winner Native River is one of just five entries for the Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury on Saturday.
Colin Tizzard's charge landed the Hennessy Gold Cup, the Welsh Grand National and this Grade Two prize last season before going on to finish third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He has not been seen in competitive action since that fine effort almost a year ago, but is nevertheless likely to be a hot favourite to successfully defend his Newbury crown on his way to another tilt at Gold Cup glory.
The ultra-consistent Cloudy Dream would be an emotional winner following the death of his trainer Malcolm Jefferson last Friday.
The Trevor Hemmings-trained eight-year-old, who will now run in the name of the late trainer's daughter Ruth, has finished second on each of his three starts this season.
Anthony Honeyball could saddle classy novice Fountains Windfall, who bounced back from successive falls with an impressive handicap success at Kempton last month.
Gary Moore's Traffic Fluide and the Paul Nicholls-trained Saphir Du Rheu, who has been off since falling in last year's Grand National, are the other possibles.